Iran-backed Iraqi militias have rejected the results of Iraq’s October election

In which their political wings performed very poorly, and elements among them may well have been behind the attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s life earlier this month.

But can anything be done on a practical level about the malignant menace of Iraq’s pro-Iran militias?

For years now, there have been widespread fears that the Iran-backed elements of Hashd Al-Shaabi (or Popular Mobilization Forces) have amassed enough fighters and weaponry to outgun the Iraqi Security Forces and pose a Hezbollah-style threat to the Iraqi government and state.